After winning the World Series in his first season with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Shohei Ohtani is readying himself for an encore. In 2025, the Japanese sensation hopes to continue raking at the plate, one season after becoming the first player in MLB history to swat 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in the same season…while making a successful return to the mound.
What made Ohtani the most coveted free agent in history upon his departure from the Los Angeles Angels was his outstanding track record as a hitter and a pitcher, though elbow injuries have prevented Ohtani from making more than 28 starts in a season since he debuted in MLB in 2018. Healthy once again, Ohtani is eager to pitch again…and he already knows what he has to work on after serving exclusively as a hitter in 2024.
Ohtani zeroes in on improvements as he returns to the mound
Ohtani was named the NL MVP in 2024 despite not pitching at all during the season, as he recovered from an elbow ligament tear. But now that he is returning to the bump in 2025, Ohtani is ready to put his full skillset on display for the first time since he joined the Dodgers on a 10-year, $700 million free-agent contract in December 2023.
It may seem crazy to say Ohtani has a level to his overall game that he has yet to tap into, but the man himself revealed as much to reporters in Phoenix on Thursday, as the Dodgers faced the Chicago Cubs in their opening Spring Training game.
“As part of being a baseball player, I do want to explore different options, different avenues, to see if I could grow as a player,” he said. “I do that on the pitching side as well as as a hitter.”
When he last pitched for the Angels in 2023, Ohtani posted a 10-5 record with a 3.14 ERA across 23 starts. Utilizing his four-seam fastball and his devastating sweeping breaking ball, Ohtani struck out 167 batters over 132 innings before he underwent elbow surgery that September. He threw off a mound for the first time in August 2024, but the Dodgers kept him at designated hitter for the duration of their World Series run.
As if the National League didn’t already have enough to worry about with the Dodgers’ deep lineup and bevy of live arms in the rotation, Ohtani’s pledge of diligent improvement upon his return to the mound will strike fear into the heart of every other NL contender. But only time well tell whether the three-time MVP’s choice to pitch from a full windup as opposed to the stretch will prove successful.
Read the full article here
